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Kamal Nath to take oath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on December 17

Governor Anandiben Patel invites Kamal Nath to form government in Madhya Pradesh, acknowledging the support secured by the Congress from SP, BSP and Independents to prove majority in the 230-member House

Kamal Nath to take oath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on December 17

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and party observer AK Antony with Kamal Nath and other leaders during a press conference announcing Kamal Nath as the next Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal on Dec. 13, 2018. (Photo: IANS)

Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Friday invited Congress Legislature Party leader Kamal Nath to form government in the state, appointing him the Chief Minister of the state. The party won the recently concluded Assembly elections, bagging 114 of the 230 seats, and had staked claim to form government showing support of seven more MLAs to prove majority.

Kamal Nath said he would take oath on December 17.

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Congratulating Kamal Nath for having been elected as the CLP leader and securing support of the seven Samajwadi Party, BSP and Independent MLAs, Patel said she was appointing him the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh under Article 164 of the Constitution.

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Earlier in the day, Kamal Nath met Governor Anandiben Patel at the Raj Bhavan in Bhopal and informed her about his election as the CLP leader. He was accompanied by senior Congress leaders Digvijay Singh, Vivek Tankha and others.

The meeting lasted for nearly 50 minutes, following which the Governor invited him to take oath.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place at Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal around 1.30 pm, Nath told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.

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Having won 114 seats in the 230-member House in the Assembly polls, the results of which were declared on December 11, the Congress was two seats short of majority. It, however, secured support of one SP, two  BSP and four Independents to take the total strength to 121. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had been ruling the state for 15 years, got 109 seats.

The Congress named Kamal Nath as the next CM of Madhya Pradesh late Thursday night after marathon meetings at party chief Rahul Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi. Soon after that, the 72-year-old senior leader flew down to Bhopal and was formally chosen as the leader of the state Congress Legislature Party.

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